For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the skies

For the love which from our birth

over and around us lies

For the beauty of each hour


of the day and of the night

hill and vale, and tree and flower

Sun and moon and stars of light

Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise

Deep Dark Secrets

It was a night like any other. And by a night like any other I mean since I've moved home. And by night I mean evening because despite it being 8:00 we had still not eaten dinner. And by not eating dinner yet I mean that our favorite take out Italian was not ready yet. And by not ready yet I mean... Ok so it was not necessarily a night like any other but it was a night at home. My dad and I sat with two computers passing the time by exploring youtube. Anyways after listening to our new favorite singer and finding out what Taylor the Latte Boy really thinks I moved on to some Facebook stalking. As Dad and I were talking this whole time I realized a shocking thing...that my dad has (duh duh duh)..... a DEEP DARK SECRET!!!! Thats right people, a DEEP DARK SECRET! I didn't even think Dad's could have secrets! Ok well the secret really was just some little thing he knew I would tease him about(very true)! Still though I was in shock that my Dad even had a DEEP DARK SECRET! Then I got to thinking though, don't we all have DEEP DARK SECRETS?(don't you think the capitalization really adds to the excitement?) And wouldn't life be so boring if we didn't? After all if no one had secrets there would be nothing to discover about each other! Secrets add excitement and intrigue! And allow for us all to keep learning a little more about each other! So, although there are definitely things that should NOT be a secret, I've started to embrace DEEP DARK SECRETS! And can I just tell you how darn mysterious it's made me feel?!

Has It Really Been A Month Since I Last Posted?

A month? Really? Wow time flies when your having fun, or um.. studying for finals... yea right! Anyways these have been the happenings in my life the last little bit:
Easter weekend with Abbie:
My parents and Meg all went to California Easter weekend for choir tour, leaving me and Abbie here in the cold! We managed to have lots of fun though! Highlights of the week include introducing Abbie to J Dawgs, going to the Hannah Montana movie(twice!), eating dinner at Aunt Debbie's(also twice! She is amazing), having a big kid Easter egg hunt with the cousin.s, cosmic bowling, going to Color Me Mine, visiting Grandma, learning about bubble gum pop in my music 101 class, buying $ store gifts for each other and watching Friends while playing Skip Bo!

In the car... No doubt driving back and forth from Sandy to Provo-which is how we spent almost the entire weekend! Good thing we had the Hannah Montana soundtrack to keep us entertained!

Easter with Grandma... "I'm just surprised we're having a party today!"

School:
Well finals came, and much to my disbelief, went! There is such relief that comes with the end of finals! And so it is that I finished my first year at BYU. It was a very long one(and not just because they don't sell Diet Coke on campus) but I learned a lot and made many good friends! I loved this first year and I'm so grateful for all the opportunities it provided me with!

Shell and I after the most intense game of red rover I've ever played.. I'm going to miss my singles ward FHE

Life:
I'm official moved home for the Summer now! The plan is to live here with my family and find a job(hopefully real soon) and work a lot! It's good to be back home where a big smile a few kind words gets you Cafe Rio and movie tickets paid for by the parentals! More than anything though I love being with my family so much. My mom keeps telling me that I'll be more than excited to head back to BYU in the fall but for now I'm just enjoying where I'm at. Dorthy got it right-there really is no place like home! Now if I could just get a cute pair of red flats and an adorable puppy...

Gotta love Chili's girls night out during Priesthood...

Life really is good....

Weekend Getaway...

WELL-Pretty much my friends are awesome. Not only are they hilarious, put up with my crazy loud laughter no matter the time of day(or night), and often have brilliant ideas(well at least some of them...) they also have very strong testimonies of the gospel, and are great influences to me of how to live my life. So because they are so awesome when they first invited me to come with them for a weekend to go to the Manti and St. George temples I knew it was going to be a trip I'd never forget... And I was not disappointed

We left Friday afternoon and drove to Manti. There we ate dinner in the temple cafeteria before doing baptisms and confirmations. It was such a beautiful experience and I loved being able to share that spiritual time with these friends. After finishing there we drove to St. George, well we drove until about 5 miles out of St. George, turned around and drove back to Ceder City, and then turned around and drove back(long story..) That was only the beginning of our night though.. We were up late watching the boys sumo wrestle, joke about the Boston Couch Part, and listening to them giggle. Eventually they quieted down enough and we fell asleep.

Being crazy on the drive home

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to get to the St. George temple. Actually our alarms didn't go off and had it not been for Ryan we probably wouldn't have made it. On my way into the temple I tripped, on a curb, and broke my favorite pair of bright pink high heels. It was tragic, but their is no rest for the righteous and we kept on running into the temple. We had another amazing experience there that morning serving these people who did not have the opportunity to do these ordinances in their lifetime. The spirit was so strong, and I loved being there.

Playing the marshmallow game Saturday night

After going to the temple we went to breakfast, ran to home depot, took the boys to a buffet, went shopping, took naps and went swimming! We all had so much fun just hanging out together, and laughing nonstop! Highlights of the afternoon were playing volleyball in the pool, Stacie having a 'bagel' at McDonald's, and watching the skinny beautiful girls at the pool when Mitch started acting like a whale... good times

The gorgeous Manti temple. I loved the temple workers at both these temples and decided that I so want to do that when I grow up!

After a fun afternoon at the pool we came back, showered and went out to dinner. We chose Iggy's so we could all watch some March Madness (Great idea Stacie!) and as an added bonus enjoyed some great buns made by a wonderful baker! After that, and a quick picture stop with a tumble weed that is bigger than an elephant in the wild, wild west, it was off to Fiesta Fun to race in the go-karts! Later we went to target, got frozen custard, and played the marshmallow game! It was such a fun night!

Car and I are pretty crazy sometimes... Congrats on winning the race Car-even though you cheated-they are not bumper cars!... :)

Sunday morning we slept in-which was very much needed! After waking up we went to Sacrament meeting, cleaned up the van and the condo, went to In-N-Out Burger and headed back to snow in Provo.

I had so much fun with my friends! More than it was fun though it was such a neat experience to go to these temples and feel the spirit so strongly! Thanks to my friends for inviting me, and making it so fun! I can't wait to go back again sometime soon hopefully!

Doors

I am constantly making decisions, choosing one thing, opening doors, deciding. With each decision I make I open the door to something, and by doing so every other possible door closes. Everything else that could have been is no longer an option for a reality. I open a door by deciding, and from that decision although the other options close, other new doors open. After all when one door closes another one opens. In life I don't let myself look back with regrets, I tell myself that I can't spend my time wondering what would have happened had I chosen the other door. Sometimes I get so caught up in not dwelling on the past that I don't take the time to ponder the path that led me to the doors I now face. The things that meant enough to me to influence me to put my hand out, and pull a door open. Today I let myself stroll back down the path and remember what brought me to where I now am, and I discovered a few things. I found out just how many doors I have already opened, and that in my life the doors I haven't opened have not really been missed. It was this discovery that reminded me about how this life works. I chose a door to open. Sometimes I think for a long time about which one to open, others I do it quickly and spontaneously but always I chose. After I chose I make the effort, I twist the handle, I open the door. Then I do the hard part- I walk through the now open door, not knowing whats coming. I act upon my decision. This is the test of my faith. I exercise this faith, I put it all in the Lord's hand, and he blesses me with more doors, with help choosing doors, and with his companionship when I have to walk through one. And no matter what, if I'm doing the right thing, putting my trust in him, and doing everything I can he will make sure the right doors come along, and that they will all lead me to what is good, and what is right. It's this knowledge that makes it easier for me to face all these doors, knowing that I am not alone in choosing, and that I never will be.

A Week of Celebrating!

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile! I guess I'm mostly apologising to my parents- I know not many people actually read this thing, but they always do and Dad's been mentioning that it's been awhile, so sorry it took so long! This past week has been so much fun and so great! On Wednesday night I went to my very first opera! Stacie, Rachelle and I went down to Capital Theater and saw the Marriage of Figaro for classes we're each in. (I would like to take this moment and give a shout out to Stacie because she told me she actually reads this-I love you like I love my kitten-for those of you who don't know what that means it's just a little opera lingo! See how cultured I'm becoming!) We had such an exciting time running(quite literally) around downtown in our high heels, and when we were really crunched on time, barefoot! Some highlights of the night included sneaking in our delicious Japanese candy, and reading the program for the fourth act! Thanks for making it so fun girls!

Stacie and I after becoming cultured!

The next day was March 19-my 19th birthday! It was such an awesome day! I got to have breakfast with my mom, hear the classic "19 years ago..." story, wear my favorite outfit(including my hot pink heels!), play with the streamers on my door that the girls on my floor decorated, go to dinner with the family at Bonsai, open presents, eat cake, laugh with my family, actually watch the Office and 30 Rock on a real TV on Thursday nights(as opposed to watching them online the next day) and sleep in my big comfy bed! It was the best birthday yet! Thanks family and friends!

I love this picture with the fire!

Dad, you look hot-you know like that worker at Haunted Mansion.. ha ha ha...

(PS-that is not as creepy as it sounds, inside joke!)

Because I was turning 19 on the 19th I decided I needed to celebrate my awesome golden birthday in an awesome way! So I asked my family to give me 19 presents! I told them that they didn't need to be big things but that I just love opening presents, and because my parents are the best I came home that night to see 19 wrapped presents! Most of them are from the $ store but I love them each! I received: sunglasses, sidewalk chalk, a pair of socks, a bottle of Diet Coke, a package of gum, a coloring book, a plastic kite, a clydasope, a box of chocolate eggs, a circular puzzle thing, a sewing kit, a box of mint girl scout cookies, tweezers, a fingernail file thing, water ballons, a slinky, an Easter decoration, a pair of earrings and a hankie for the temple dedication, and a car duster! I loved them all! They also gave me some $ for shopping-which I always love! Thanks mom and dad!!!

Me and my Diet Coke!

The next day I had the opportunity to attend the Draper Temple cornerstone ceremony. Megan was singing in a special choir that was performing their and got to sing for the prophet. We had to wake up early and wait outside for a couple hours but it was such a neat experience. Because I've had the opportunity to attend the open house a few times and then volunteer there for a few hours I really feel like this temple is truly mine. Being able to put some mortar in the corner stone after the prophet and apostles were done also added to the feelings I had for this temple. I just love it!
On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend as session of the Draper Temple Dedication in the temple. We were in the large sealing room. It is so beautiful in their, and the spirit was so amazing as the temple was dedicated to the Lord. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I love the temple so much and can't wait to go back.

Grandma and A Whole Lot of Red

On Saturday Dad, Mom, Abbie and I went to the women's Utah vs BYU basketball game to watch dad give out the Deseret Duel. Both teams played great and it was an exciting and intense game. Little did we know that the lady Utes win would make it so Utah would win the entire Duel. We were so excited-Way to go Utes!

After the game we went for a few minutes to go visit grandma!

Notice how we're all still decked out in our best Utah outfits, well except Grandma...

She still looks great though, even if there was some blue in her outfit
We love seeing grandma but its been hard watching the effects of Dementia take their toll on her and the others there. Visiting her always reminds me of two things though 1) that I'm loved and 2) that I really want to be a nurse so that I can help people like the nurses there do for her

Dad giving out the award to the Utah team. They were so excited they won

Now, living in Provo the fact that there was another game going on Saturday did not escape my attention. Actually it was impossible to ignore, what with my friends camping outside the Marriot center for a week to get good seats and all the e-mails I got from the BYUSA about the "white out". In the spirit of being true to myself I wore a red Utah shirt to class and around campus all day Friday. Don't worry-no one attacked me! As for the game-I'm not a poor loser and I congratulate the Cougs on there win! (They did lose to Utah once this season though-lets not forget that). When the Cougars win it does make nearly everyone here in Happy Valley extra happy so I will not complain! I will however still be sporting my color of choice.

And look how proud that makes Dad..